The Boy in the Suitcase

A Nina Borg Mystery

By: Lene Kaaberbøl - author/translator, Agnete Friis

Narrated by: Katherine Kellgren

Length: 8 hrs and 40 mins

Publisher's summary

Audie Award Nominee, Solo Narration - Female, 2013

Audie Award Nominee, Best Thriller/Suspense Category, 2013

Nina Borg, a Red Cross nurse, wife, and mother of two, is trying to live a quiet life. The last thing her husband wants is for her to go running off on another dangerous mission to help illegal refugees. But when Nina's estranged friend, Karin, leaves her a key to a public locker in the Copenhagen train station, and begs her to take care of its contents, Nina gets suckered into her most dangerous case yet.

Because inside the suitcase is a three-year-old boy: naked and drugged, but alive. Nina's natural instinct is to rescue the boy, but she knows the situation is risky. Is the boy a victim of child trafficking? Can he be turned over to authorities, or will they only return him to whoever sold him? In an increasingly desperate trek across Denmark, Nina tries to figure out who the boy is, where he belongs, and who exactly is hunting him down. When Karin is discovered brutally murdered, Nina realizes that her life and the boy's are in jeopardy, too.

©2011 Lene Kaaberbol and Agnete Friis (P)2011 AudioGO

Critic reviews

"This past-paced, suspenseful thriller intertwines several stories, gradually revealing the motivations of multiple characters and building tremendous suspense." ( Booklist)

"Warning! If you open this book, your life will be on stand-by." ( Elle, Denmark)

"The surprise ending is perfect. You won’t be able to put this down." ( Romantic Times)

a little confusing

it takes a few chapters to untangle the characters, but in all a nice story.

Ready for book TWO

i absolutely loved the story! I loved the characters and i LOVED the narrator! awesome audio book!

unexpectedly intriguing

I bought this audiobook primarily because I like the narrator and the premise sounded interesting, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that I liked the story and the characterizations very much.

I'll start with the protagonist Nina, the nurse and social worker with her own set of psychological problems, which makes her more real but also a little more confusing. Hampered by a pathological need to help and to try and solve everyone's problems, she gets herself involved in things that another person might have easily avoided - and she also has a strange obsession regarding knowing and monitoring the exact time. It causes as many problems as it helps, but in this book it at least helps the young boy in the suitcase.

The plot waxes and wanes in complexity, as at the beginning there are several threads in different parts of the world that must be woven together in the book and in our minds. At the beginning of the book, when the characters and their voices were all new to me, that took a little bit of persistence and patience, but later it made for a more interesting story.

I was worried briefly at the end that it would have a happy-ever-after implausible conclusion, but I was really pleased that the protagonist stayed true to her personality and to the character that the book had already created.

I'm glad I took the chance to try this new author. The names of people and places were unfamiliar, and that can be a bit jarring, but it was worthwhile.

Well crafted suspense played out in a new environm

Would you consider the audio edition of The Boy in the Suitcase to be better than the print version?

Exceptionally rendered story in which exactly the right amount of information is given at each stage to build incredible suspense. I have been a passionate reader for 50 years, so that often I can guess plot development and resolutions. This novel kept me guessing!

good thrilling story but spoiled by the narrator

Would you try another book from Lene Kaaberbøl (author and translator) and Agnete Friis and/or Katherine Kellgren?

Yes, this was a well structured story told rom the point of view of, at first encounter, four unconnected characters whose connections to the main mystery of boy in the suitcase became clear only very gradually.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

It was quite nail-biting towards the end.

Would you be willing to try another one of Katherine Kellgren’s performances?

No. This was the disappointing part of the listening experience. This narrator really irritated me. There was a lot of over-dramatisation in her reading and a sort of sarcasm.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

probably

intricate story with satisfying conclusion

this isn't a typical crime novel. in the beginning I thought, "how the hell are they going to tie all of this together in the end?" I was very pleased when they did, in a way that didn't feel forced. the pacing was perfect; slowing letting the reader in on the intricate connections between characters. this was a smart, fascinating, literary crime story. I highly recommend a listen. the only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is because of the narration. I've listened to books by this narrator before, and she is mostly great, but sometimes I feel like she overdramatizes in a way that can be quite annoying, especially during "action" scenes.

kept me listening

Where does The Boy in the Suitcase rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

couldn't put it down, kept me guessing all the way. I would rate is in the top ten percent of all audio books of this kind. I like the comedy books a little better

These foreign translations are not all that good

Once again I was succered by the review and hype. Stilted English, awkward translation, predictable plotline. Not as good as I had hoped.

Great Book!

Great storyline. It was suspenseful and the separate parts or character stories were easy to follow as well as very well developed.

Captivating

What made the experience of listening to The Boy in the Suitcase the most enjoyable?

This was a fascinating story, with excellent character development-all the characters seemed larger than life and totally believable! I had a very difficult time turning off my device every time I needed to stop listening and do something else. I felt true empathy for both Nina and the mother in the story, and couldn't wait until the story resolved!

What did you like best about this story?

The fast past nature.

Which character – as performed by Katherine Kellgren – was your favorite?

The boy's mother- she would stop at nothing.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes, definitely.

Any additional comments?

A fantastic story!